


Gluttony

by funnygirlthatbelle13



Series: Not-So Deadly Sins [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Iron dad and Spider son, Peter can’t take care of himself, Starving, tony is Trying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 16:38:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15100796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funnygirlthatbelle13/pseuds/funnygirlthatbelle13
Summary: Peter said he’d go to Tony if he needed anything, but that’s not quite what’s been happening. Peter starts skipping meals to save money. However, eventually, it all comes crashing down.





	Gluttony

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everybody!!!! I’ve been working on this for a couple weeks now and I’m really happy with how it turned out!!!

Wake up. Get dressed. Answer streaks. Grab a granola bar. Say bye to Aunt May. Leave. Get on the subway. Get off. Enter Midtown. Buy a Monster from the vending machine. Science. History. Spanish. Do the rest of the day’s homework in study hall. Grab an apple and another energy drink. Sit with Ned and MJ, sneaking a French fry once or twice. Gym. Band. Math. Public speaking. Attempt to avoid Flash. Ride back home. Patrol. Come home. Eat dinner with May. Homework. Shower. Bed. 

That was life for Peter Parker. Ever since they’d initiated Tony’s plan of bursting into Delmar’s during his shift and announcing that Peter simply had to become his personal intern, his life had begun to crawl and the pace of an inchworm. He was exhausted, more than he’d ever been before in his life, and all he wanted was to curl up in bed for a whole weekend watching movies and snacking on everything in sight. 

It was a Friday afternoon, about three weeks after Tony’s stunt at Delmar’s, when Peter stood outside the school, waiting for Happy. He’d had to use his parachute the other night, so he had to go pick up a new one. And, since he was already going to be there, Tony had suggested they work on some upgrades. Peter wanted to be excited, he really did, but he just couldn’t muster up the energy. 

The familiar black car pulled up to the school. Peter put on a big smile, not wanting to worry Happy.  
“Hey, kid,” the man said.  
“Hey, Happy!”

***  
Tony sat in the lab, waiting for Happy to bring Peter up. He was really glad for the excuse for the kid to come visit. It had been a long week full of boring meetings with stuffy people, and he was looking forward to the kid’s infectious energy. Peter had that ability to always make him feel calmer just by talking about his regular, everyday stuff that most people ignored but made him feel more grounded. He reached over and turned down the volume of his Disney piano cover playlist. Rock n’ roll was his go-to genre, but it often overwhelmed Peter’s heightened hearing, so they’d found a compromise. 

“Sir, Happy Hogan and Peter Parker have entered the building.”  
“Awesome, thanks, FRI.”

***  
In the elevator, Happy was listening to the kid rambling on about his decathlon practice. Though he made sure to keep a professional distance, he had grown fond of the webslinger since their trip to Berlin. Hearing the stories of the high school superhero was, though he’d never admit it, one of his favorite parts of the job. But, as was always the case, the door opened and Peter ran to greet his mentor, shouting a farewell to the head of security as he went.

***  
Peter was sitting at the table typing on a tablet. Coding wasn’t his strongest suit, but that was what needed to be done, so he was doing his best.

“How’s it coming, Peter Pan?” Tony called from across the lab where he was working on the parachute.  
“Okay so far. I just need some more time to figure out how to prevent it from affecting the voice modulator we already have.”  
Tony glanced up at him looking… impressed? Peter tried to read Tony’s facial expression, but his brain felt a bit foggy from all the numbers, so it was hard to tell.  
“You okay, kid?” 

Was he? It was hard to tell. Coding always slowed his brain down, but it usually didn’t get this bad. Were the lights being dimmed? They must be because the lights were going down all around him. 

***  
Tony immediately rushed across the lab to catch Peter.  
“FRIDAY, what the hell is going on with him?” he called out as he laid the boy down.  
He must be sick. Can he get sick? The spider bite supposedly kept him from getting hurt or sick, but maybe there were diseases that were stronger than that. Maybe one of his enemies had figured out a way to create a disease that could get to him. Maybe he had gotten stabbed or shot or-  
“Sir, you’re having an anxiety attack.”  
“I don’t care about me, FRIDAY. Focus on the kid.”

Peter’s eyes fluttered open.   
“Can you hear me, Peter?”  
The boy didn’t seem to hear him. Either that, or he didn’t understand what was being said to him. Nothing.  
“FRIDAY, what’s going on?”  
Tony felt his hand shaking as he did his best to check Peter’s temperature.   
“Peter Parker is hypotensive and slightly feverish, most likely due to dehydration and malnourishment.”  
“Mr. Stark?” Peter whispered as his eyes fluttered open once more.  
“Check for a concussion, FRI,” Tony called. He could feel himself shaking.  
“No sign of a concussion. Recommended course of action is immediate nourishment.” 

Peter sat up immediately at the sound of that.   
“I’m okay,” he insisted, though he hardly sounded convincing.   
“Like hell you are.” Tony put a strong hand on the teenager’s shoulder to stop him from moving. Peter definitely had the strength to move him out of the way, but between his weakened state and generally polite demeanor, he knew the kid wouldn’t hurt him.  
“Everything’s fine, Mr. Stark.”  
“Oh, really? Is that why you passed out in my lab?”  
Peter began to blush. Was he going too hard on the kid?  
“You know you have to eat twice as much as the average guy your age. Why didn’t you come to me when you couldn’t afford to eat that much?”

Peter stood up with such force that Tony instinctively took several steps back. The tear-filled eyes, clenched fist, and trembling figure were all trying to send him a message, but he couldn’t decipher it fast enough.  
“Because I’m not your goddamn kid! I can take care of myself! I always do!” he shouted, pushing past Tony, who stared at him in shock.

“Well, that could’ve gone better.”

***

Peter found himself in the bedroom he used when he was staying over for the night. He hadn’t been planning on coming here, but his body just went on autopilot. Closing the door behind him, he sat down on the bed.

How could he be so stupid? He had yelled at Tony freaking Stark, something he’d never, ever wanted to do. The man had seemed so hurt by the words as he’d stormed off. God, he was such a teenager. FRIDAY’s words hit him over the head like a ton of bricks. An anxiety attack. Tony Stark had had an anxiety attack over him, and all Peter could do to thank him was waste his time and scream in his face. He really was the worst.

There was a knock on the door. Knowing that resistance was futile, he sighed.  
“Come in.”  
Tony opened the door, a sheepish look on his face and a pizza box in his hands. With his enhanced senses, Peter could smell every detail of the pizza and just how good it smelled.   
“Mind if I sit down?”   
“It’s your house,” he mumbled, feeling oddly like a little kid.   
“True.”  
Tony plopped down next to him, sighing as he pulled out a piece of pizza. Peter felt a pang of hunger in his stomach but did not grab a slice.

“You know, my dad had a stick up his ass about pretty much everything. But pizza? For some reason, maybe just the fact he was a New Yorker, but for some reason he had good taste in pizza. When I was little, he and I would sneak out once in a blue moon, pretend we weren’t rich or famous or anything and we’d just get a pizza. This was his favorite place, mine too. Once I got older, we stopped doing that, but whenever he wanted a fight to be over, I’d find a box of   
pizza on my bed.”

Peter didn’t dare say anything. Howard was a sore subject for Tony, and this was the first time Peter had really heard him talk about the man. Tony didn’t seem too phased, though, as he calmly munched on his pizza.

“I didn’t eat pizza for a while after they died. Wasn’t a conscious thing, but it just stopped seeming appealing. I didn’t even realize it was a thing I was doing until New Year’s Eve. There was this fancy party, saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new and all that bullshit. Obediah came to pick me up, he was taking me, but he took one look at me and told me to take the tux off. By the time I’d changed, the pizza was on its way and my host for the night had been informed that I’d caught the flu. It’s a stupid memory, especially seeing how Obediah didn't exactly have my best interests at heart in the end. But he said something to me that night, something that I’ve never forgotten: You’re allowed to need something. You can’t feel bad about putting your needs first, even if other people want something different.”

So that’s what this sudden desire to share was about. As much as he wanted to be angry, he just couldn’t muster the energy to get fired up about it. Maybe it was a sign just how exhausted he was. Maybe he was kind of glad to be validated. 

“Listen, Pete, just because you need different things than everybody else doesn’t mean you don’t deserve it. You wouldn’t take a diabetic off their insulin because it costs too much. That’s what insurance is for. So if you’re gonna act like a martyr, I can at least work in your rules. You’re my intern, right? You can be a paid intern.”

Peter could feel the tears beginning to flow and didn’t bother trying to hide them. Tony was so good to him. He really did care. Even now, he watched Peter intently, trying to gauge his emotions.

“I don’t want you to feel guilty, but I want to help. Does that sound okay, kid?”

He averted his eyes from Tony’s intent look, wiping his eyes on his jacket. There were so many emotions coursing through his veins, and yet he felt oddly calm. He turned back, a small smile on his face.  
“Yeah, that sounds great.”   
Tony smiled down at him that same look from back in the lab. If he was a little bolder, Peter would have called it pride. The older man put an arm around him and pulled him close. Peter could smell the scent of Tony’s aftershave, the same on Ben had used.   
“Alright, eat up, kid. I don’t want to have any leftovers, ya hear?”  
“Yes, sir,” he said with a chuckle.  
Tony handed him a slice of pizza with a smile, and they began to eat.


End file.
